Pop Music News
Elon Musk and Grimes Change Baby’s Name to Comply with California Law
Earlier this month, Grimes and Elon Musk welcomed a healthy baby boy, and they promptly set him up for years of therapy by naming him X Æ A-12. Now, without much explanation, the child has undergone a rebranding: X Æ A-Xii. There, that clears things up, doesn’t it? Via The Guardian, there’s been speculation that the child’s original name violated California law, which stipulates that only the 26 letters of the alphabet can be used. The new appellation would seem to fit the rule of law, swapping as it does a 12 for an Xii. Neither Musk nor Grimes has confirmed this as the reason, though in responding to an Instagram comment about the CA mandate, Grimes wrote, “Roman numerals. Looks better tbh.” Using the roman numerals for 12 instead of the modern English symbols won’t change...
Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff Share Cryptic “Look What You Made Me Do” Cover for Killing Eve: Stream
The latest episode of Killing Eve contained a cryptic cover of Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” by previously unknown band Jack Leopards and the Dolphin Club. Via Pitchfork, a trail of clues suggest that the song actually comes from Swift and Jack Antonoff, while Swift’s brother Austin may be the vocalist. T-Swift left the first breadcrumb herself, when she tweeted about being “VERY STOKED” for the cover by Jack Leopards and the Dolphin Club. Jack Antonoff, a co-writer of the original version of “Look What You Made Me Do”, is listed in the credits as a producer, along with a certain Nils Sjöberg. Swifties will recall Sjöberg as the pseudonym Taylor used for her co-writing role on Calvin Harris and Rihanna’s “This Is What You Came For.” But what about Austin? There are tw...
Tove Lo Releases Expanded Edition of Sunshine Kitty, Shares New Song “sadder badder cooler”: Stream
Tove Lo has released a new expanded version of her latest album, Sunshine Kitty. Dubbed the Paw Prints Edition, the special release adds eight songs to the tracklist, including the newly revealed single “sadder badder cooler”. Much of the additional material on Sunshine Kitty (Paw Prints Edition) is made up of previously released tracks, including the FINNEAS-produced “Bikini Porn” and “Passion and Pain Taste the Same When I’m Weak”, as well as Tove Lo’s cover of Swedish artist Veronica Maggio’s “I’m Coming”. Also present are a pair of Live at Vevo recordings (“Sweettalk My Heart” and “Mistaken”), Heavy Baile’s remix of “Are U Gonna Tell her”, and the Team Salut remix of “Sweettalk My Heart”. As for the new track, “sadder badder cooler” is an empowering electropop jam that truly lives up t...
Carly Rae Jepsen Drops Surprise New Album Dedicated (Side B): Stream
Surprise! Carly Rae Jepsen has returned with a companion album to her recent full-length, 2019’s Dedicated. Aptly titled Dedicated (Side B), the 12-track LP includes contributions from Jack Antonoff, Dev Hynes, and Ariel Rechtshaid. Stream it below. “So yes there have been whispers and I’m bad at keeping secrets. Side B for Dedicated is out now babies and I couldn’t be more thrilled to shares these tunes,” Jepsen said in a statement. “I hope it makes yah dance your pants off! Thank you for all the joy you shared with me on this last year of touring. I owe yah one… or like two albums turns out.” Earlier this year, Jepsen released an anti-Valentine’s Day track called “Let’s Be Friends”. Editors’ Picks Dedicated (Side B) Artwork: <img data-attachment-id="1038628" data-perma...
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande Drop Collaborative Single “Rain on Me”: Stream
With just a week to go before the arrival of Chromatica, Lady Gaga has unveiled the album’s most highly anticipated collaboration: “Rain on Me” featuring Ariana Grande. Check it out below via its official music video. On the new single, the two pop powerhouses take turns belting out lines like, “I’d rather be dry, but at least I’m alive.” The pair took a similar empowering stance in all of the track’s various promos on social media, which featured Gaga and Grande striking poses in outfits straight out of a sci-fi flick. In an interview with Apple Music on Thursday, Gaga recalled how the partnership came together, “I said to her, ‘OK, now everything that you care about while you sing, I want you to forget it and just sing. And by the way, while you’re doing that, I’m going to dance in ...
Doja Cat Pounces on Remix of The Weeknd’s “In Your Eyes”: Stream
Doja Cat has learned the power of the remix, especially after “Say So” featuring Nicki Minaj became each woman’s first number one hit. Now she’s teamed up with Canadian megastar The Weeknd, pouncing on a new remix of his After Hours track “In Your Eyes”. She feels right at home in The Weeknd’s tripped-out pop landscape, where the melodies are intoxicating and the artists have been over-served. She begins her verse in tears over her love, even though the rest of the lyrics imply that the relationship is going well. “I can’t stop staring at you” she sings, before spitting raps. “It’s like I forgot that staring is rude/ And that’s what five shots could turn me into.” Check out “In Your Eyes (Remix)” below. In March, The Weeknd shared a deluxe edition of After Hours featuring re...
Lana Del Rey Announces New Album, Rejects Critics Who Say She “Glamorizes Abuse”
Lana Del Rey has been teasing a spoken word record for the last few months, but apparently she has even more up her sleeve. In an Instagram post early Thursday, she announced she will release a new album on September 5th, the follow-up to last year’s stellar Norman Fucking Rockwell!. Del Rey also appeared to shade major pop stars of color like Beyoncé and Cardi B in a lengthy discussion about the glamorization of abuse and feminism’s place in pop music. Del Rey’s social media post was predominantly focused on rejecting the criticisms that her music glamorizes abuse. “I’m fed up with female writers and alt singers saying that I glamorize abuse when in reality I’m just a glamorous person singing about the realities of what we are all now seeing are very prevalent abusive relationships all ov...
Sia Shares New Song “Together” from Upcoming Directorial Debut: Stream
Sia’s last proper album, This is Acting, hit shelves more than four years ago. The pop superstar has been quite busy since then, though — and not just with her music. Not only is she working on the soundtrack to a movie she herself directed, she has also expanded her own family by adopting two 18-year-old boys. Marking Sia’s feature directorial debut, the forthcoming film is called Music. Co-written by Sia and children’s author Dallas Clayton, it’s based on a short story the singer penned in 2007. The story follows the life of an autistic teenager (Maddie Ziegler) who is cared for by her drug-dealing half-sister (Kate Hudson). If you’ll recall, actor and dancer Ziegler often appears in Sia’s music videos, including the now-classic clip for “Chandelier”, one of the best hits of the 201...
The Weeknd Announces Rescheduled Tour Dates for 2021
After releasing one of the most popular albums of the year in After Hours, The Weeknd was understandably excited about a massive arena tour. Unfortunately the coronavirus pandemic put the kibosh on that, but the Canadian pop star has now announced that he’s rescheduled those tour dates for the summer and fall of 2021. “The After Hours (Rescheduled) Tour” kicks off in Vancouver in June, exactly one year and a day after it was originally set to commence. The 67-date trek criss-crosses North America until October, at which time he’ll take the show to Europe. All of his old performances have found a new home except for a November stop in Glasgow, the exact time of which is still TBD. He’ll be joined on tour with openers Sabrina Claudio, Don Toliver, and Black Atlass. Check out the full sc...
Lorde Has a New Album in the Works, And She Says It’s “So Fucking Good”
If there’s one positive to be had from this period of self-isolation it’s that there’s lot of music is currently being created. Earlier today we learned that Trent Reznor has taken a “deep dive into new NIN material.” Now, in a newsletter to fans, Lorde has revealed that work on her third studio album is well underway. Lorde actually began working on the Melodrama follow-up prior to quarantine, as her and frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff split time between studios in New Zealand and Los Angeles. Even after having to shelter in place, she’s “still working away — Jack and I FaceTimed for over an hour this morning going over everything,” Lorde revealed. Because of the current constraints, Lorde acknowledged that it’ll “take a while longer” for her to finish the album, but s...
Hacker Group Leaks Confidential Lady Gaga Files, Threatens to Next Take Down Donald Trump
This week, a cache of confidential Lady Gaga files was leaked by a hacker group. Those same cybercriminals are now aiming to bring down Donald Trump. It all started earlier this week, when Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, one of the most prominent law firms in the entertainment industry, became the target of a hacker group using ransomware called REvil. The massive cyberattack resulted in over 750 gigabytes of stolen data pertaining to the firm’s A-list clientele, which include Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Drake, U2, and Madonna, as well as Robert De Niro, Bette Midler, and LeBron James. The hacker group offered to return the classified data in exchange for $21 million dollars, according to Rolling Stone. Rather than cough up the ransom money, however, attorney Allen Grubman and the rest of...
Charli XCX Releases Her Quarantine Album How I’m Feeling Now: Stream
Back in April when it became clear that the coronavirus lockdown wasn’t ending anytime soon, Charli XCX made her fans a promise. She told them she would be writing and recording an album entirely from quarantine, and she’d not only be documenting the whole thing on social media, but asking for followers’ input. The British pop star has made good on her goal, and today has released How I’m Feeling Now for all to enoy. Charli produced the follow-up to last year’s Charli with remote assistance from PC Music leader A. G. Cook and BJ Burton (Bon Iver), as well as contributions from 100 gecs member Dylan Brady, Dijon, Danny L Harle, and Palmistry. She also relied on her Angels (her name for her fans), asking them to vote on artwork, submit footage for tracks’ videos, and other creativ...
